Second man accused of scooter theft arraigned in Northern Berkshire District Court

NORTH ADAMS -- Jesse Sprague, 31, the second man accused of stealing a North Adams woman’s motorized scooter last year, was arraigned in Northern Berkshire District Court on Tuesday.

The Cliff Street resident admitted his role in the theft of approximately $40,000 in collectible toy trains from a city storage unit last September, as well as the scooter theft, according to police.

Sprague, currently serving a jail sentence in the Hamden County Jail and House of Correction, told police he worked with Patrick Gaffey, also of North Adams, on both occasions. Gaffey currently faces a number of drug and larceny charges in Northern Berkshire District Court, including for the scooter and toy train thefts.

Police interviewed Sprague at the Hamden County Jail last year, when he admitted to driving Gaffey’s minivan to and from the scene of the motor scooter theft, according to the criminal complaint filed by North Adams Detective John LeClair.

Gaffey, in a separate interview, told police a different version of events in which Sprague was the leader in several larcenies committed by the two defendants, according to LeClair.

The two allegedly used a bolt cutter to break into a unit on State Road, from which they stole vintage model trains, die cast cars, tools, and fishing poles valued between $35,000 and $40,000. Police were later able to track the items, listed for as much as $200, on eBay.

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Sprague faces charges of breaking and entering in the daytime for a felony, malicious destruction of property under $250, larceny over $250, and larceny over $250.

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